Film at 11

We're six weeks into the self-quarantine. It's crazy how quickly it's passed, but time flies when you're basically stuck in the house all the time.

Of course, that's not exactly true. I'm working from home, so my morning commute is walking into the kitchen, but I've been running outside every other day and checking in on my mom once a week (she can't drive anymore and I need to make sure she's got what she needs). The work structure during the week is helpful because I'm set up and working remotely from 8:30 to 5 every day. But there's still a lot of sameness to life during quarantine. Days flow into each other and it's easy to lose track of time.

We've done a few video calls with friends to maintain contact with someone other than the four of us. The girls certainly spend a fair amount of time in touch with their friends via social media; technically, they're still in school, but it's sort of a reduced series of assignments and certainly not as stringent as a regular school schedule. Often we're in four corners of the house, but we've been doing a family dominoes night on Saturdays and trying to watch some things together like Jeopardy and the occasional movie.

I haven't done as much binge-watching as you would expect. We're working our way through Schitt's Creek because those episodes are short and quick, but I've been watching a lot of movies. Mostly older stuff, a lot of which I'd seen before, but I've always loved movies and it helps pass the time, I guess.

Here's a list of some of the movies I've seen in the last six weeks in no particular order:

• Something Wild (1986) - Great early Jonathan Demme film that I hadn't seen in 30+ years. Still a lot of fun. Lots of good twists and turns, good performances from Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith and Ray Liotta, and the Feelies are in it playing a high school reunion.
• Slap Shot (1977) - A classic that I've probably seen a dozen times. Never gets old. Quintessential '70s film for more than just the hockey brawling.
• The Breakfast Club (1985) - I'm not as in the tank for John Hughes movies as other folks, but I've always enjoyed this one. 
• Uncle Buck (1989) - As much of a John Candy fan as I am, I'd never seen this one all the way through. Pretty fun.
• Die Hard (1988) - Introduced the girls to this holiday classic. Yippie-ky-aye, mofos.
• Splash (1984) - We watched a few early Tom Hanks movies. This is a favorite of mine, not the least of which because it has Candy and fellow SCTV alum Eugene Levy. Thumbs down to Disney+ for digitally obscuring Daryl Hannah's bare ass in a few scenes.
• The Money Pit (1986) - I saw this Hanks movie in the theater when it came out and I had a similar feeling about it then. Good people involved, but just not a good movie. Hanks and girlfriend Shelley Long move into a giant house that falls apart the second they move into it. 
• Shaun of the Dead (2004) - I love this movie. So goddamn good.
• Hot Fuzz (2007) - The second part of Edgar Wright's Cornetto Trilogy and just as enjoyable as the first. Sadly, for whatever reason, the third one (2013's The World's End) never seems to be on any streaming channel.
• The Fugitive (1993) - Good action movie with Harrison Ford based on the old TV series about a doctor falsely accused of killing his wife. 
• Working Girl (1988) - Saw this when it came out. Very 1980s-looking romantic comedy with a good cast (including a young Alec Baldwin) and a cheesy Carly Simon soundtrack. Definitely notice now how every '80s/'90s movie set in NYC used to have at least one shot of the twin towers.
• Big (1988) - An old favorite from back in the day. More youngish Hanks.
• Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005) - Brangelina in full effect. Pretty enjoyable shoot-'em-up directed by the excellent Doug Liman.
• Burn After Reading (2008) - An underrated Coen brothers film with great comic performances by Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich and George Clooney.
• Raising Arizona (1987) - The first Coen brothers movie I had ever seen and still one of my favorites. Nic Cage and Holly Hunter are perfect in it, and former boxer Randall "Tex" Cobb in his greatest role.
• Ghost Rider (2007) - Totally cheesy Marvel adaptation with Cage as the title character. Kind of entertaining in parts, but pretty bad for the most part.
• Ratatouille (2007) - I had never seen it before, but very enjoyable Pixar film with Patton Oswalt in the lead role. 
• Stop Making Sense (1984) - Watched this classic Demme documentary with my daughter Lily, who's been getting into the rock music a little more. Amazing performances by the Talking Heads, who were never the same after this tour.
• Hype (1996) - For someone who was really into the Seattle indie rock scene in the early '90s, I somehow had never seen this until now. I even owned the soundtrack. Great look at the birth of the scene and the aftermath of Nirvana's rise.
• ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas (2019) - Nice doc from Sam Dunn (Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, Metal: A Headbanger's Journey) about ZZ Top tracing the band's origins and rise.
• Extraction (2020) - Netflix action pic starring Chris Hemsworth and produced by the Russo brothers. Pretty gory at times, some good sequences and shot in India. Nice cameo from David Harbour.

I'm sure there are others I've watched, but those are the ones I remember right now. No doubt many more to come before this thing is over.